UCL Fantasy Matchday 8 Best Budget Gems

The new round of the 2024/25 Champions League season is edging closer. With this in mind we continue our coverage by picking out the UCL Fantasy Matchday 8 best budget gems. To do this we consider several factors including fixture difficulty and form.

Budget players can be vital for UCL Fantasy managers. Cheap assets allow more budget for premium picks who can be some of the most consistent in the game. Finding cheap assets is essential but finding cheap assets who do well can contribute to both rank and mini-league position.

Aston Villa

Aston Villa could be a standout this week in regards to budget picks. The English side have had an impressive campaign overall and sit comfortably in the play-off places due to their efforts. We should also take into account, that if Aston Villa win this week, they have a very good chance of making the top eight.

Matchday 8 sees Unai Emery’ men play at home, which is a venue they tend to perform significantly better at. We also have to consider that Celtic, who they clash with, can be poor when playing away from home.

In defence, and maintaining excellent distribution data this season among defenders in the Premier League, is Lucas Digne (€4.6m). The Frenchman has also registered six assists this season, showing he can convert his stats into actual returns.

One of the best budget gems going into the new round could be Morgan Rogers (€5m). The English midfielder has become integral to Unai Emery’ frontline, and continues to impress in general this season. If starting, striker Jhon Duran (€5.5m) could also be a consideration after scoring against Bayern, Bologna and Leipzig already during the current campaign.

Goalkeepers

Goalkeepers have been disappointing overall this season, bar one or two premium options. For that reason, spending as little as you can in-between the sticks could be a good play.

One option we could look to is Sporting CP’ Franco Israel (€4m). The Portuguese side have racked up a huge 11 clean sheets from 19 domestic league matches this season. This week they face Bologna, who has well as scoring the joint least amount of goals in the Champions League, have also recently lost arguably their best attacker due to injury.

For those not keen on Sporting CP this week, then it could be a case of backing the reliable Juventus backline. Unlike Sporting CP, Juventus have shown they can regularly keep clean sheets in Europe, having managed back-to back in their previous three matches. With this in mind, Michele Di Gregorio (€4.2m) could be a great pick.

Interestingly, there has been some rotation between the Leverkusen goalkeepers as of late. Fortunately UCL Fantasy managers have the opportunity to check all line-ups ahead of the deadline. So, whoever starts between Matej Kovar (€4.3m) and Lukas Hradecky (€4.8m) against a poor Sparta Praha side, could have brilliant potential.

More Great Budget Gems

Sporting CP has shown they can score goals consistently in Europe, and their opposition continue to leak them. Rumours continue to cloud the community, suggesting star striker and penalty taker Viktor Gyökeres will miss the game. Replacing him is likely to be 19-year-old Dane Conrad Harder (€4.5m).

With five clean sheets in the Champions League so far, Arsenal have become a trustworthy side for UCL Fantasy managers. This week the Gooners taker on the already-eliminated Girona, a side who have produced poor attacking metrics for most of the campaign. Jurrien Timber (€4.4m) is the cheapest and safest route into the Arsenal backline in terms of gametime.

For those looking to go as cheap as possible in defence, then Crvena Zvezda Young Woo-Seol (€3.8m) is the joint lowest priced player in the game. Young Boys lay ahead, who are yet to pick up a single point in the current campaign.